Metal fabric and article formed therefrom



Feb. 10, 1942 Y J. PILIERO 2,272,276

METAL FABRIC AND ARTICLE FORMED THEREFROM Filed July 15, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: James Pzflzaro,

ATTORNEY Feb. 10, 1942. J. PILIERO METAL FABRIC AND ARTICLE FORMEDTHEREFROM Filed July 15, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR James Pilz'ero,

BY A M ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 10, 1942 METAL FABRIC AND ARTICLE FORMEDTHEREFROM James Piliero, Astoria, N. Y., assignor to Dickson Wire &Cable Corp., Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication July 15, 1940, Serial N0. 345,524

3 Claims.

This invention relates to metal fabrics and articles formed therefrom.

The fabric according to the invention is especially well adapted for usein making bed springs or bottoms and, for purpose of illustration, isdisclosed in connection with such use, but the invention is not thuslimited. The fabric, for example, also may be used in the manufacture offurniture, such as chairs, divans and the like, in place of webbing,metal straps and other materials now employed for supporting purposes.

Among the features ordinarily desired in fabric of the type to whichthis invention relates are that it support the load without undue orpermanent sagging; that it be sufficiently flexible both to conform tothe shape of the body and distribute the load suificiently to preventundue strain on any portion of the fabric; that it yield when stressedand return to its original position when unstressed without squeaking,scraping or clicking; and that it be easy and economical to manufactureand assemble with the article with which it is to be used. The presentinvention is directed to the provision of a fabric having these featuresand advantages.

In accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the invention, whereinthe novel fabric is disclosed in connection with its use in a bed springor bottom, the invention comprises the provision of a relatively limpfabric constituted by a plurality of spaced, parallel cable membersarranged in pairs. Extending along the space between adjacent pairs ofstraight cable members are additional cable members arranged in zigzagform and connected alternately to adjacent pairs of straight members byclips which are slidable on the straight members. The straight membersare connected respectively at their ends to helical springs which inturn are anchored to rigid frame members and the sidemost zigzag membersare connected by suitable clips to rigid side members, which latterpreferably are attached by springs to the end members.

An object of the invention is the provision of a novel, highly flexiblemetal fabric suitable for use in forming bed bottoms, furniture bottomsand the like.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel bed springor bottom which is very flexible and conforms readily to the shape ofthe load placed thereon without undue sagging; which has no substantialpermanent sag, and which operates without noise or jar.

Various other features and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom thefollowing particular description and from an inspection of theaccompanying drawings.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthis invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims appendedhereto, the invention itself, as to its objects and advantages, and themanner in which it may be carried out, may be better understood byreferring to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings forming a part hereof, in which Fig. 1 isessentially a bottom plan view of a bed spring or bottom constructed inaccordance with the invention, with certain parts of the frame brokenaway for clarity;

Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical longitudinal crosssectional views taken alonglines 2-2 and 3-3, respectively, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary view showing particularly one of theclips and its cooperation with the cables; and

Fig. 5 is a view of a cross-section taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

In the following description and in the claims, various details will beidentified by specific names for convenience, but they are intended tobe as generic in their application as the art will permit. Likereference characters denote like parts in the several figures of thedrawings.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the fabriccomprises a plurality of spaced, parallel, substantially straightmembers I, each of which preferably is constituted by paired strands 2,preferably formed by a single length of cable, the ends of which, may,if desired, be connected as indicated by the reference character 3 inFig. 2. The strands are formed from metal cable in the nature of picturewire, only substantially heavier and stronger, which cable is flexible,capable of bending under the influence of relatively light stresses andcapable of repeated bending without deterioration or weakening.

Extending along the spaces between adjacent straight members are zigzagmembers 4 also formed from flexible cable which may, if desired, besimilar to the cable from which the straight members I are formed, andpreferably each two adjacent zigzag members are formed from a singlelength of cable connected at one end of the fabric, as indicated by thereference character 5.

The zigzag members 4 are alternately connected to adjacent straightmembers I by clips 6, shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5.

Each clip 6 is formed with a body portion 1 having paired wings 8extending from opposite side edges thereof and each adapted respectivelyto receive a zigzag member 4 and the adjacent strand 2 of thecorresponding straight member I, thereby connecting the zigzag members 4to the straight member I.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, the wing 8 is caused to abut the body I and isof such dimension that the strand 2 is loosely received in the clip 6and the clip 6 therefore is enabled to slide freely on the straightmember I, being limited in its movement only by the zigzag member 4'. Incetain cases, it is desirable that the wing 8 also engage the zigzagmember loosely for limited relative movement therebetween, although itis not as important that these members be relatively movable as it isthat the clip 6 be movable on the straight member I.

The wings 8 may, if desired, be formed with a slight concave curvatureas illustrated in Fig. 4, which feature minimizes any tendency of theclip to cut into the zigzag member 41.

Where the fabric is to be used in forming a bed spring or bottom, it isattached to a suitable frame comprising rods 18 carrying curved bracketsI2 which support end rails H. The fabric is connected to the end rails Hby a series of springs, preferably of helical form, which springs areconnected respectively to the straight members I and are anchored totheend rails ll, as illustrated in Fig. 1. It will be noted in thisconnection that each spring !3 is connected to a straight member I butonly alternate springs have the zigzag members connected thereto.

Side rails Hi are provided and preferably are connected as by one ormore helical springs to the end rails H. The sidemost zigzag members 4are suitably connected to the side rails M at points corresponding tothe connection of the other zigzag members 4 to their respectivestraight members I. Clips l6 which may, if desired, be similar to theclips 6, are employed for connecting the sidemost zigzag members 4 tothe side rails I l.

The fabric is so dimensioned that it is held taut when not in use, thehelical springs I 3 being only slightly tensioned; thus the fabricpresents a neat and attractive appearance and is capable of supporting aload with a minimum of unnecessary sagging.

When the load is applied to the spring, as by a person reclining on thebed of which the spring is a part, the straight members I in thatportion of the spring on which the person is lying, are bowed downwardlyand extend their respective helical springs I3 accordingly. The zigzagmembers 4 connected to those of the straight members I which arestressed, serve to prevent lateral separation of the straight members Iunder the influence of the load and also to transmit to adjacentstraight members successively the force of the load; these straightmembers in turn transmit this force to their respective helical springs.Additionally, the zigzag members transmit a relatively small force tothe helical springs to which they are connected respectively. Thus itwill be seen that the load is transmitted to the helical springs both bythe straight members which are directly involved and also by other ofthe straight members which are acted upon by the zigzag members.

When a load is thus applied to the spring and the directly involvedstraight members are bowed, the clips 6 slide on the stright members Iand permit a certain degree of adjusting movement of the zigzag membersrelative to the straight members, thereby providing a high degree offlexibility of the fabric and a substantially wide distribution of theforces generated by the load.

The fabric is highly flexible owing not only to the arrangement ofstraight and zigzag members, and the sliding of the clips on thestraight members, but also owing to the high flexibility of the cablesfrom which the straight and zigzag members are formed. The flexiblecables moreover permit considerable adjusting movement under loadwithout noise or snapping, as is often the case where more rigid membersare employed.

The provision of a double strand straight wire provides increasedflexibility over that which would be obtained from the use of a singlewire, and the double wire also more completely fills the space betweenadjacent zigzag members than would a single wire. However, it is withinthe contemplation of the invention to employ a single strand straightwire where this may be desirable, although in most cases it will befound preferable to provide a multi-strand straight member.

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosedherein, and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understoodthat various omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A bed bottom comprising rigid, parallel end bars and rigid parallelside rails, anchor springs connected to said end bars, a flexible fabricextending between the anchor springs at opposite ends of said spring,said fabric including a plurality of pairs of normally straight,parallel flexible members each of said pairs being connected at theirends to corresponding anchor springs at the opposite ends of said bedsprings and formed of a single length of cable, flexible zigzag membersdisposed between said pairs of straight members and anchored at theirends to alternate anchor springs connected to said end bars and clipsslidable on said straight members for connecting each of said zigzagmembers at spaced points alternately to its adjacent straight members,each of said clips having a pair of oppositely disposed wings each wingbeing curved over a single straight member and a single zigzag member toform a loop engaging and holding said members in position, said looppermitting slidable movement of said engaged straight and zigzagmembers, and clips connecting the sidemost zigzag members of said fabricto the corresponding side rails.

2. A bed spring which comprises end rails maintained in rigid and fixedparallel relation to form a frame, side rails extending longitudinallyof said frame, helical springs connecting said side rails at each oftheir ends with said end rails, a plurality of parallel pairs ofstraight flexible metal cable members, each pair being formed by asingle length of said cable, a plurality of pairs of oppositely disposedhelical springs anchored to said end rails, each of each pair of saidoppositely disposed helical springs being connected to an end of one ofsaid parallel pairs of straight metal cable members, a plurality offlexible metal cable members engaging said straight members in zigzagfashion, each pair of straight cable members being flanked by one ofsaid zigzag flexible members, said zigzag members being formed in pairsand each pair being formed of a single length of cable, metal clipsslidable on said straight members connecting said zigzag flexiblemembers with said straight members at equidistant points along saidstraight members, each of said clips formed with a. pair of oppositelydisposed wings each wing being curved to engage a zigzag member and asingle straight member, said clips being alternately spaced on therespective pairs of straight members, ends of each pair of said zigzagmembers being connected alternately to said springs anchored to said endrails, and clips connecting the outermost zigzag members to said siderails whereby said zigzag members present a plurality of diamond shapedforms of equal size.

3. A fabric to be resiliently mounted in a frame of the characterdescribed which comprises a plurality of parallel pairs of straightflexible metal cable members, each pair being formed of a single lengthof said cable, a plurality of pairs of zigzag members, each pair ofzigzag members being formed of a single length of flexible metal cableand shaped to form a series of generally diamond shaped forms, saidzigzag members engaging a straight member at the loci of the points ofsaid diamond shaped forms. metal clips slidable on said straight membersslidably connecting said zigzag members with its adjacent straightmember at the loci of the points of said diamond members.

JAMES PILIERO;

